Page 79 of My Favorite Sin

You’ll be back. I don’t know when. It could be days. Months. Years. But you’ll be back, and I’ll be here waiting for you.

My chest tightens as I gaze into Dan’s dark eyes, remembering his parting words from our one night together. Breathing becomes painful, just as it did at the fair.

“Um, I’m going to take the presents to my room.” I stand from the table, collecting all the gifts in my hands, using them as an excuse to escape, when what I really need is privacy to get a hold on myself before I break out with another panic attack.

“Do you need help with the presents?” Mom asks.

“No, it’s okay. I’d like a moment alone if no one minds.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

ALLY

By the time I arrive at my bedroom, my face is a wet mess. I place the presents on my bed and lie back, sobbing uncontrollably. All my emotions flood out and it hurts to the core of my soul.

My entire life is a wreck. I think back to when I first returned from Paris and got stood up on my date, how I was at the lowest point of my life and knew changes needed to be made to find happiness.

I’ve made changes, and yet, this massive void still lays inside me.

I had this picture-perfect idea of what happiness would look like for me. I’d be in love with a perfect guy who treats me right and isn’t my stepbrother. Dan and I would be a thing of the past.

Since that night of being stood up, I’ve found the textbook perfect guy. Liam is everything I should want. He’s eager to commit to me. We have fun together. He’s caring and attentive.

And yet nothing feels right with him.

I said I’d give Liam a proper chance. But after receivingthis locket, it’s pushed me to my breaking point and I’m done fighting the one thing in this world that makes sense to my heart.

The risk of being caught with Dan won’t ever go away. Tonight, right now, I’ve decided it’s a risk worth taking. My parents’ opinion of me, my public image and job, Forever Families…Everythingis worth risking if it means being with Dan.

When my breathing calms and the tears stop flowing, I check the time on my bedside clock. It’s almost nine and I’ve been absent from the party for ten minutes. Far too long to not raise suspicion. I head to the bathroom with the heart locket in my hand, needing to see the damage this emotional outburst has done to my makeup. My eyes are red, but surprisingly nothing has been smudged or washed away. Thank goodness for waterproof makeup.

“Kind of the opposite reaction I was hoping for with my gift.”

I spin around in fright, finding Dan leaning a shoulder against the doorframe.

“Tears of joy, maybe.” His voice is deep and slow. Intimate. His gaze traces my body, down and back up to my eyes, heating every inch of me. “But I didn’t expect you to leave your own party upset.”

“I’m fine. I love the necklace. I’m just overwhelmed.”

“I knew you’d love the necklace,” he murmurs. “When you opened the present, you looked at me in a way I’ve never seen before. It was a look you shouldn’t have given me in public. Not in front of our family. Our parents. Especially not in front of Liam. Even now, you’re giving me the same look. I want to know what it means.”

His gaze bores into me, holding me in place. I lick my lips, my heart beating so incredibly fast as I speak my nextwords. “It means I’m back, just like you said I would be. But this time, I’m back for good. I don’t know how, but we’ll find a way to make this work. We’ll be together in secret. This necklace you gave me—” I hold it up in my hand. “I want you to be the one to clasp it around my neck, and then I’m never taking it off. I’m yours forever. Let everyone see your mark on me, even if they don’t realize the meaning behind it. We will.”

A flicker of disbelief crosses his face as my words register in his mind. Dan wastes no time closing the distance between us, and within a few swift strides, his lips are hot upon mine and his hands are tangled through my hair. I moan into his kisses, clinging to him. Nothing has ever felt this good, having his body against mine and knowing there’s no expiration date on what we have. I don’t care if we have to continue our relationship in secret. I’m taking what I want. He’s mine and every part of me belongs to him.

Dan lifts me up by the backs of my thighs and places me on the basin, pushing his hips between my legs, right where he belongs.

“I’m sorry it’s taken me this long to see the truth,” I say as Dan’s kisses move down my throat. He takes the necklace from my hand and secures it around my neck. “I’m sorry about every time I ran away from you.”

“I know, baby. I don’t care. You’re here with me now.”

I unbuckle Dan’s belt, working fast to get his thick, hard length free. We’re at a party with all our family nearby, but I don’t care. I need to feel Dan inside me. I need him to come in me.

He hoists my dress up and pulls my panties to the side, pushing the entire length of his dick into me in one quick thrust. I cry out at the sharp and sudden stretch. He coversmy mouth with a kiss, muffling my sounds from the party downstairs. My legs wrap around Dan’s waist, locking him to me as my muscles adjust to his size. Our foreheads press together and all I can hear is our panting.

“We shouldn’t be doing this again without a condom.” He pulls out and thrusts back in, ignoring his own words. Dan repeats the pattern, fucking me slow but desperately, his muscles trembling.

“I went on the pill right after we had sex. I need you to come in me.Please.”

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